Sensationalism Sucks: Why Kyrie Irving is a Punching Bag for Mainstream Media
Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
By: Baigen Seawell
While one can say that some sports talk narratives are old, tired and ridiculous, it’s what gets clicks. We’ve seen it many a times in situations that just make you scratch your head. From Kaepernick to James Harden, once the most impressionable narrative hits mainstream waves, it’s hard to change it.
Kyrie Irving is, and has pretty much always been an agent of change. His most recent contribution brought to the forefront has been his buying of a home for the family of George Floyd. While this act was pretty much unheard of until Stephen Jackson brought this to the forefront, people still find reasons to hate Kyrie.
See here with Jackie McMullan calling him “property” of his owners due to them granting him the million dollar salary he generates:
Here’s the audio of Jackie MacMullan’s story about her telling Kyrie that he’s an NBA owner’s property because they pay him millions pic.twitter.com/p1U5Euiz1n https://t.co/2JRfzrKKAy
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) January 14, 2021
Or here where he was thought to be the reason for the Celtics demise.
It’s nothing new for Kyrie to be the scapegoat of everyone’s problems when he’s on your favorite team. Since his days in Cleveland, he’s been catching flack for his contributions (or lack thereof) to his team and the teammates around him.
“He’s not likable.”
“He’s not a team player.”
“He’s not a leader.” And those words are thought to come right out of his mouth according to some sources.
And while this could be arguably true… is it all on Kyrie? While in Boston, he can’t be the sole reason for the team falling apart. Former Celtic, Cedric Maxwell says that Irving wasn’t the sole reason for the Celtics falling apart. “This group was the most dysfunctional team I've seen since 1983, when we had four Hall of Famers on our roster and got swept by the Milwaukee Bucks. These guys never found a way to be on the same page.” He told ESPN.
In Cleveland, it was only inevitable that he would be traded. He called it himself.
But this go round. Boy, oh boy. This go round has been the biggest sensationalist dumpster fire of them all. While NBA media outlets are great for pushing a narrative that will gain traction for the most minuscule things, they have just been rolling with some of the most outrageous things to hit the airwaves.
Kyrie Irving is the most hated player in the NBA. I rest my case ... pic.twitter.com/4lkn2jevzg
— MJs GOAT (@MjsGoat) January 12, 2021
How the Dumpster Caught Fire
Sensationalism stems from the desire to gain as many clicks as possible with little to no research in the process of creating a narrative for those to follow. As the times change, more and more media outlets have gravitated to this mode of media because of the quick attention spans we have today.
Sports in particular are not interesting to everyone. The performance of an athlete after his or her game may not interest everyone. But throw something in like someone kneeling during the national anthem or losing 50 pounds in 48 hours after leaving a team they absolutely hate, and you’ve got impressions from sports fans and non sports fans of the like.
In the midst of social injustice and one of the most polarizing moments in United States history, Irving, one of few athletes, chose to sit out for the 2020 NBA Bubble Season. His reasoning was fair, being as though the country was in ruins. Irving, who sits on the NBAPA Executive Committee as the Vice President, has more than enough jurisdiction to start this dialogue. While he was the outlier, he did receive support, but not without scrutiny.
Sports fans would argue that once again, Kyrie is not thinking about the collective, only thinking about himself. But rather, he has shown time and time again that he is thinking about the collective. His M.O. was on the biggest picture there is while showing that athletes are indeed... more than athletes. This would not be the main mode of discussion by NBA enthusiasts and “casual fans” though, it would rather be again highlighting his selfishness.
Fast forward a few months, we begin the abbreviated NBA 2020-21 Season. Kyrie would choose to not only sit out in the beginning, but not discuss any matters with media outlets or points of contact. He would even choose to skip out on media day for the Nets. And for what it’s worth, he had every right to do this!
However he eventually came back and when playing against the Celtics, he was seen smudging. or burning sage during pregame warm-ups. No one cared to take five seconds to see that he has ties to the Standing Rock Sioux, they’d rather label it witchcraft instead.
Again the masses took it and ran with it, causing an uproar of additional commentary to the Nets Guard.
This goes on over and over like a constant cycle of commentary that seems to never end by anyone who feels compelled to pick it up. However, most people will find it easier to gravitate to the main outlets and outrageous stories because it seems more appealing to consume than say...
His contributions by paying for Lincoln University students tuition.
Or him donating to the WNBA players who opted out for the Bubble season...
Or maybe him helping provide free meals valued at around $250,000 for New York City Residents.
All the while he was burned at the stake for avoiding the yellow journalism and those who feed the narratives, helping them grow into the dumpster fires they are today.
One thing about narratives in sports and sports media is that athletes are able to easily create one... about as easy as mainstream outlets can formulate their own while letting consumers catalyze it for their own corporate gains.
Kyrie plays the game and plays it well. He creates his narrative and letting his actions speak for itself. While you can’t control the masses as to how they interpret his actions, he can control what and how he chooses to interact with it.
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